cambridge computer science dissertations

Study at Cambridge

About the university, research at cambridge.

• Undergraduate courses
• Events and open days
• Fees and finance
• Postgraduate courses
• How to apply
• Postgraduate events
• Fees and funding

International students

• Continuing education
• Executive and professional education
• Courses in education
• How the University and Colleges work
• Term dates and calendars
• Visiting the University
• Annual reports
• Equality and diversity
• A global university
• Public engagement
• Give to Cambridge
• For Cambridge students
• For our researchers
• Business and enterprise
• Colleges & departments
• Email & phone search
• Museums & collections
• Undergraduate Study
• Student life overview
• Why Cambridge
• Accommodation
• Sport and societies
• Courses overview
• Choosing a course
• How you will learn
• Careers and graduate prospects
• Subject A-Z
• Colleges overview
• What is a College?
• Choosing a College
• College contacts
• Area links scheme
• Finance overview
• Tuition fees
• Living costs
• Financial support
• Music awards
• Applying overview
• Application timeline
• Before you apply
• After you apply
• International overview
• Chat with our students
• Why Cambridge?
• What can I study?
• Entry requirements
• Tuition fees and costs
• International visits and events
• Visas and immigration
• Year abroad
• Get in touch!
• Open Days and Events overview
• Upcoming events
• Cambridge Open Days
• Virtual Tour
• Think Cambridge
• Subject Masterclasses
• Teachers and advisers' events
• HE fairs and exhibitions
• Find out more overview
• Sign up to our Newsletter
• Widening participation

Parents and supporters

Teachers and advisers

• Getting here
• Why Cambridge overview
• Study facilities and libraries
• Cambridge explained
• Support overview
• College welfare

Disabled students

Mature students

• Counselling
• Care leavers overview
• Realise student snapshot
• Travel Fund
• Young carers
• Student parents and childcare
• Estranged students
• Area links scheme overview
• East Midlands overview
• Leicester City
• Leicestershire
• Lincolnshire
• Northamptonshire
• Nottinghamshire
• East of England overview
• Bedfordshire
• Cambridgeshire
• Hertfordshire
• Peterborough
• Southend-on-Sea
• Greater London overview
• Barking and Dagenham
• City of London
• City of Westminster
• Hammersmith and Fulham
• Kensington and Chelsea
• Tower Hamlets
• Waltham Forest
• North East overview
• Middlesbrough
• North Tyneside
• Northumberland
• Redcar and Cleveland
• South Tyneside
• Stockton-on-Tees
• North West overview
• Blackburn with Darwen
• Telford and Wrekin
• Northern Ireland
• South East overview
• Bracknell Forest
• Milton Keynes
• Oxfordshire
• Southampton
• Isle of Wight
• Buckinghamshire
• West Berkshire
• South West overview
• Bath and North East Somerset
• Bournemouth
• Gloucestershire
• North Somerset
• South Gloucestershire
• Wales overview
• North Wales
• Mid and South Wales
• West Midlands overview
• Herefordshire
• Staffordshire
• Warwickshire
• Wolverhampton
• Worcestershire
• Yorkshire and Humber overview
• East Yorkshire
• Huddersfield and Kirklees
• Kingston-upon-Hull
• North East Lincolnshire
• North Lincolnshire
• North Yorkshire
• Isle of Man
• Living costs overview
• Study costs
• Financial support overview
• Cambridge financial support
• Government financial support
• Family contribution
• Outreach Scholarships overview
• Stormzy Scholarship
• Formula 1 Scholarship
• Geography Scholarship
• Student Funding and Sharia Law
• Music awards overview
• Choral awards overview
• Instrumental awards overview
• Organ scholarships overview
• College vacancies and course restrictions
• When are the auditions and interviews?
• What do the Organ Trials involve?
• How do I apply?
• Further information
• Choosing high school subjects
• Improve your application
• Entry requirements overview
• Qualifications we accept
• Sixth Term Exam (STEP)
• International entry requirements
• Application statistics
• Mature student applications
• Second undergraduate degrees
• UCAS application
• Admission tests overview
• Clinical aptitude test (UCAT)
• Law test (LNAT)
• Engineering and Science test (ESAT)
• Mathematics test (TMUA)
• College admission assessments
• My Cambridge Application
• Disruption to your studies
• Written work and portfolios
• Cambridge interviews overview
• Prepare for an interview
• Application decisions overview
• Admissions Policy
• Unspent criminal convictions
• Contextual data
• Outcome of your application overview
• Terms of Admission
• Admissions complaints
• After you get your exam results overview
• Information for new students
• Applying for reconsideration overview
• Reconsideration eligibility criteria
• Tuition fees and costs overview
• International financial support
• Tuition fee status
• International visits and events overview
• International webinar series
• Cambridge Open Days overview
• Open Days Programme 2024 overview
• Warm-up webinars
• General support
• Subject sessions
• College sessions
• Open Days FAQ
• Teachers and advisers' events overview
• Teachers and Advisers' Webinars
• Teachers and Advisers' Conference
• Widening participation overview
• Access and Participation Plans
• Insight Discover
• Insight Explore
• Sutton Trust Summer Schools
• Apply: Cambridge
• Safeguarding
• Parents and supporters overview
• Parents' Newsletter
• Teachers and advisers overview
• How similar are Oxford and Cambridge?
• Helping students prepare
• School/college reference
• Teachers' Newsletter
• Events for Teachers and Advisers
• Inspiring Educator Awards

Computer Science, BA (Hons) and MEng

• Student life
• International
• Open Days and Events
• Find out more

Computer Science at Cambridge

Computer Science at Cambridge brings together disciplines including mathematics, engineering, the natural sciences, psychology and linguistics.

Study modern computer science, along with the underlying theory and foundations in economics, law and business.  

Here at Cambridge, we pioneered computer science and we continue to lead its development today.

Our links to Computing go back to the 1930s when Alan Turing developed the theoretical foundations for computation. We’ve been at the forefront of Computer Science research ever since.

This is a broad and deep course that covers all aspects of modern computer science.

We have 3 and 4 year course options:

• the 3-year course is a BA honours degree
• the 4-year course includes a Masters, leading to a BA and Master of Engineering (MEng) degree

Whichever option you choose, you will develop practical skills in:

• programming, in various languages such as OCaml, Java, C/C++ and Prolog
• hardware systems, such as chip design

Teaching and facilities

Established over 80 years ago, we were the first Computer Science department in the country. Our research helped lay the foundations of modern computing. We built the first programmable computer to come into service and lead the early development of programming languages and operating systems. We continue to innovate and advance the field, in areas from AI to quantum computing to computer architecture.

We offer a learning environment that is creative, stimulating, modern and entrepreneurial. You will be taught by pioneers and leading researchers in this fast-moving field.

You'll also take part in group projects that offer the chance to work with and present to external companies. Find out more about how Computer Science at Cambridge can support your future career .

The Department of Computer Science and Technology is packed with the latest technology. Our facilities include:

• advanced lecture theatres
• dedicated practical rooms

Our West Cambridge site offers:

• a fantastic environment for both study and relaxation
• resources, specialists and support of the Technology Libraries team (in the West Hub, just opposite the building)
• big and comfortable lecture theatres
• a games room
• café facilities (in the West Hub)

At Cambridge, you'll also have access to the impressive Cambridge University Library, one of the world’s oldest university libraries.

Course costs

When you go to university, you’ll need to consider two main costs – your tuition fees and your living costs (sometimes referred to as maintenance costs).

Your living costs will include costs related to your studies that are not covered by your tuition fees. There are some general study costs that will apply for all students – you can find details of these costs here .

Other additional costs for Computer Science are detailed below. If you have any queries about resources/materials, please contact the Department.

• Laptop specification: £800 for a modern entry-level laptop is sufficient, but we recommend at least half the main drive is dedicated to a bootable Linux system, such as Ubuntu.
• University approved scientific calculator: please see the Department website for details.

You don't have to buy your own copies of textbooks, but it's strongly recommended. The number of textbooks you need depends on the course options you’ve chosen. The costs below are an estimate of how much you can expect to spend each year if you do purchase your own copies.

• Year 1: Estimated cost of core texts £150.
• Years 2, 3 and 4: Estimated cost of core texts £150 to £250 per year.

Your future career

There are more than 1,000 specialist computing and advanced technology companies and commercial laboratories in the Cambridge area, known as ‘Silicon Fen'.

A number of local firms and start-ups support our teaching and employ our graduates, in areas from chip design to mathematical modelling and AI.

As a graduate, you’ll have knowledge and skills that embody principles which will outlast today’s technology. This makes you highly sought after by industry and commerce alike.

Many of our graduates go on to work as:

• programmers
• software development professionals

Other graduates decide to pursue:

• further study
• careers in teaching and research

Many have also founded companies, or gained employment in:

• the games industry
• communications

Teaching is provided through lectures, practical classes and small-group supervisions.

In your first year you will typically have 20 hours of teaching each week, including up to 12 lectures and practical classes.

In your first and second year you will be assessed through 3-hour examinations, taken in the final term of each year.

In your third year you will be assessed through coursework and 3-hour examinations.

Practical work is undertaken and assessed in all years of the degree programme.

You won't usually be able to resit any of your exams.

Year 1 (Part IA)

You take 4 papers, including 3 compulsory Computer Science papers, covering topics such as:

• foundations of computer science, taught in OCaml
• Java and object-oriented programming
• operating systems
• digital electronics
• interaction design
• machine learning

You will also take a Mathematics paper, from the first year of the Natural Sciences course.

Year 2 (Part IB)

You take 4 papers, spanning core topics:

• theory – including logic and proof, computation theory
• systems – including computer architecture, computer networking
• programming – including compiler construction, programming in C/C++
• human aspects – including Human Interaction design, Artificial Intelligence

You also undertake a group project, which reflects current industrial practice.

Year 3 (Part II)

You choose from a large selection of topics which allows you to concentrate on an area of interest to you, such as:

• computer architecture
• applications (including bioinformatics and natural language processing)

New topics inspired by current research interests include computer architecture, data science and robotics.

You will also work on a substantial project that demonstrates your computer science skills, and write a 10,000 to 12,000 word dissertation on it.

Projects are often connected with current Cambridge research, and many utilise cutting-edge technology.

Year 4 (Part III, optional Masters)

The fourth year is designed for students considering a career in academic or industrial research.

• explore issues at the very forefront of computer science
• undertake a substantial research project

Progression to fourth year depends on how well you do in your third year exams.

If you successfully complete the fourth year, you’ll get the MEng qualification, as well as the BA degree which you get at the end of the third year.

• For further information about this course and the papers you can take see the Faculty of Computer Science and Technology website .

Changing course

It’s really important to think carefully about which course you want to study before you apply. 

In rare cases, it may be possible to change course once you’ve joined the University. You will usually have to get agreement from your College and the relevant departments. It’s not guaranteed that your course change will be approved.

You might also have to:

• take part in an interview
• complete an admissions test
• produce some written work
• achieve a particular grade in your current studies
• do some catch-up work
• start your new course from the beginning 

For more information visit the Faculty website .

You can also apply to change to:

• Management Studies at the Judge Business School

You can't apply to this course until you're at Cambridge. You would usually apply when you have completed 1 year or more of your original Cambridge course.

You should contact your College’s Admissions Office if you’re thinking of changing your course. They will be able to give you advice and explain how changing courses works.

Minimum offer level

A level: A*A*A IB: 41-42 points, with 776 at Higher Level Other qualifications : Check which other qualifications we accept .

Subject requirements

To apply to any of our Colleges for Computer Science, you will need A levels/IB Higher Levels (or the equivalent) in: 

• Mathematics 
• Further Mathematics to AS or A level if your school offers it. Please see the further guidance below. 

If you’re studying IB, we ask for Analysis and Approaches for this course. If this isn’t an option at your school, please contact the College you wish to apply to for advice. 

If you’re applying to Churchill, Downing or Lucy Cavendish, you will also need a third science subject at A level/IB Higher Level. If you apply to Christ's College you must have Further Mathematics A level.

Colleges will require A*/7 in Mathematics or Further Mathematics. Colleges may also require an A*/7 in specific subjects as part of your offer.

If applying to Churchill, you will need to achieve:

• A Level: A* in Further Mathematics, if available at your school/college (otherwise A* in Mathematics), and A* in at least one of Chemistry, Computer Science, and Physics
• IB: 7 in Higher Level Mathematics and 7 in at least one of Higher Level Chemistry, Computer Science, and Physics

Further Mathematics A level and additional maths 

If your school offers Further Mathematics to AS or A level, you should take it.  

Additional mathematics is helpful and all candidates are strongly encouraged to take up opportunities to develop their skills, such as by participating in olympiads or accessing the online resources in the Advanced Mathematics Support Programme .

What Computer Science students have studied

Most Computer Science students (who had studied A levels and started at Cambridge in 2017-19) achieved at least A*A*A* (81% of entrants).

All of these students studied Mathematics and most also took:

• Further Mathematics (96%)
• Physics (85%)
• Computing (59%)

The majority of students who studied IB achieved at least 43 points overall.

Check our advice on choosing your high school subjects . You should also check if there are any required subjects for your course when you apply.

Admission assessment

All applicants for Computer Science for 2025 entry are required to take the Test of Mathematics for University Admission (TMUA) at an authorised assessment centre. You must register in advance for this test.

Please see the admissions test page for more information.

If you're applying to Peterhouse or Trinity College you will also need to take the Computer Sciences Aptitude Test (CSAT) .

Check the TMUA page for further details and example papers.

Submitted work

You won't usually be asked to submit examples of written work. You may be asked to do some reading prior to your interview, but if this is required the College will provide full details in your interview invitation.

Offers above the minimum requirement

The minimum offer level and subject requirements outline the minimum you'll usually need to achieve to get an offer from Cambridge.

In some cases, you'll get a higher or more challenging offer. Colleges set higher offer requirements for a range of reasons. If you'd like to find out more about why we do this,  check the information about offers above the minimum requirement  on the entry requirements page.

Some Colleges usually make offers above the minimum offer level. Find out more on our qualifications page .

All undergraduate admissions decisions are the responsibility of the Cambridge Colleges. Please contact the relevant  College admissions office  if you have any queries.

Discover your department or faculty

• Visit the Department of Computer Science and Technology website - The Department of Computer Science and Technology website has more information about this course, facilities, people and research.

Explore our Colleges

• Find out how Colleges work - A College is where you’ll live, eat and socialise. It’s also where you’ll have teaching in a small group, known as supervisions.
• How to choose a Cambridge College that's right for you - If you think you know which course you’d like to study, it’s time to choose a College.

Visit us on open day

• Book an open day - Get a feel for the city and the University.
• Find an event - We offer a range of events where you can find out more about Cambridge, Colleges, and your course. Many of our events have hybrid options so you can join us virtually.

Find out how to apply

• Find out how to apply and how our admissions processes work - Our admissions process is slightly different to other universities. We’ve put together a handy guide to tell you everything you need to know about applying to study at Cambridge.
• Improve your application - Supercurricular activities are a great way to engage with your chosen subject outside of school or college.

Discover Uni data

Contextual information.

Discover Uni allows you to compare information about individual courses at different higher education institutions.  This can be a useful method of considering your options and what course may suit you best.

However, please note that superficially similar courses often have very different structures and objectives, and that the teaching, support and learning environment that best suits you can only be determined by identifying your own interests, needs, expectations and goals, and comparing them with detailed institution- and course-specific information.

We recommend that you look thoroughly at the course and University information contained on these webpages and consider coming to visit us on an Open Day , rather than relying solely on statistical comparison.

You may find the following notes helpful when considering information presented by Discover Uni.

• Discover Uni relies on superficially similar courses being coded in the same way. Whilst this works on one level, it may lead to some anomalies. For example, Music courses and Music Technology courses can have exactly the same code despite being very different programmes with quite distinct educational and career outcomes. Any course which combines several disciplines (as many courses at Cambridge do) tends to be compared nationally with courses in just one of those disciplines, and in such cases the Discover Uni comparison may not be an accurate or fair reflection of the reality of either. For example, you may find that when considering a degree which embraces a range of disciplines such as biology, physics, chemistry and geology (for instance, Natural Sciences at Cambridge), the comparison provided is with courses at other institutions that primarily focus on just one (or a smaller combination) of those subjects.You may therefore find that not all elements of the Cambridge degree are represented in the Discover Uni data.
• Some contextual data linked from other surveys, such as the National Student Survey (NSS) or the Destination of Leavers in Higher Education (DLHE), may not be available or may be aggregated across several courses or several years due to small sample sizes.  When using the data to inform your course choice, it is important to ensure you understand how it has been processed prior to its presentation. Discover Uni offers some explanatory information about how the contextual data is collated, and how it may be used, which you can view here: https://discoveruni.gov.uk/about-our-data/ .
• Discover Uni draws on national data to provide average salaries and employment/continuation data.  Whilst starting salaries can be a useful measure, they do not give any sense of career trajectory or take account of the voluntary/low paid work that many graduates undertake initially in order to gain valuable experience necessary/advantageous for later career progression. Discover Uni is currently piloting use of the Longitudinal Education Outcomes (LEO) data to demonstrate possible career progression; it is important to note that this is experimental and its use may be modified as it embeds.

The above list is not exhaustive and there may be other important factors that are relevant to the choices that you are making, but we hope that this will be a useful starting point to help you delve deeper than the face value of the Discover Uni data.

Key information

All Colleges

Cambridge Admissions Office

• Cambridge Admissions Office Student Services Centre New Museums Site Cambridge CB2 3PT
• Events: [email protected]
• General admissions: [email protected]
• Students chat

About this site

Our website

Privacy policy

Participant data and booking policies

Information for

Care leavers and estranged students

© 2024 University of Cambridge

• Contact the University
• Accessibility
• Freedom of information
• Privacy policy and cookies
• Statement on Modern Slavery
• Terms and conditions
• University A-Z
• Undergraduate
• Postgraduate
• Research news
• About research at Cambridge
• Spotlight on...

Description

The Conference of Professors of Computer Science (CPCS), in conjunction with the British Computer Society (BCS), selects annually for publication a few of the best British Ph.D. dissertations in computer science. Its aim is to make more visible the significant contribution made by Britain - in particular by students - to commputer science, and to provide a model for future students. The dissertations are selected on behalf of CPCS by a panel of eight academics. Those dissertations chosen will make a noteworthy contribution to the subject, reach a high standard of exposition, and place results particularly clearly in the context of computer science as a whole. Thus they will enable a computer scientist with significantly different interests to grasp the essentials of - or even provide a means of entry to - an unfamiliar research topic.

Study at Cambridge

About the university, research at cambridge.

• Undergraduate courses
• Events and open days
• Fees and finance
• Postgraduate courses
• How to apply
• Postgraduate events
• Fees and funding
• International students
• Continuing education
• Executive and professional education
• Courses in education
• How the University and Colleges work
• Term dates and calendars
• Visiting the University
• Annual reports
• Equality and diversity
• A global university
• Public engagement
• Give to Cambridge
• For Cambridge students
• For our researchers
• Business and enterprise
• Colleges & departments
• Email & phone search
• Museums & collections

• Open Access Resources
• Publishing Open Access overview
• Accepted for Publication: What to do next
• Self-Archiving Policy Guidance overview
• Paying for Gold Open Access overview
• Accessing the University of Cambridge's block grants
• Accessing a Transitional Deal
• Accessing the University's Central Open Access Funding
• Discounts and Offsets
• Open access agreements
• Read & publish journals
• University of Cambridge and Elsevier
• University of Cambridge and Springer Nature
• Funder Open Access Policies overview
• UK Open Access Policies overview
• REF overview
• OA and REF reporting
• Gold open access
• Policy exceptions
• Preprint servers overview
• Preprint server decision tree
• Preprint server-specific advice overview
• Preprint servers which allow accepted manuscripts to be uploaded
• Preprint servers which DO NOT allow accepted manuscripts to be uploaded
• Research Councils
• Wellcome Trust Monograph OA Policy
• Funder requirements for theses
• Other funders' Open Access policies
• Is my journal compliant?
• Open Access Policies for Books
• UKRI Open Access Policy Update
• REF Support overview
• Navigating Symplectic Elements
• Elements metadata requirements for research outputs
• REF Open Access Reports From Elements
• REF Open Access Policy Requirements and Exceptions overview
• Deposit exceptions
• Access exceptions
• Technical exceptions
• Further exceptions
• Preprints metadata requirements for research outputs
• Eligibility definitions for research outputs overview
• Category: Books or parts of books
• Category: Journal articles
• Category: Physical artefacts
• Category: Exhibitions and performances
• Category: Other documents
• Category: Digital artefacts
• Category: Other
• REF Support FAQs
• Theses overview
• Preparing to deposit your thesis in Apollo
• Funder Open Access Requirements
• Guidance for choosing your access levels
• Who owns the copyright in your thesis?
• Advice on sensitive material
• Advice on copyright material
• Advice on redacting material from a thesis
• Submitting the electronic thesis
• Data and your thesis
• Masters theses
• Advice for Doctoral Alumni
• Finding and accessing theses
• University policies & guidance overview
• Cambridge Open Access Publications Policy Framework overview
• Self-Archiving Policy
• Cambridge funding guidelines
• Contact us overview
• The Open Access team
• Open Access
• Publishing Open Access
• Funder Open Access Policies
• REF Support
• University policies & guidance

How do I find a Cambridge thesis?

Ph.D., M.Litt., M.Sc., and Divinity M.Phil. theses approved after 1970 are catalogued in iDiscover, as are M.D. and M.Chir. theses approved after May 2006. Earlier theses are listed in a card catalogue in the Manuscripts Reading Room and are gradually being added to iDiscover.

Since 1 October 2017, all PhD theses are being deposited in electronic form to the University repository  Apollo . Many earlier theses are also in the repository, but if they are not yet in digital form it is possible to request access to these theses. There is more information on how to request a copy of a printed thesis further down this page.

Gaining access to electronic copies of a thesis

The author of a given thesis in Apollo can choose whether their thesis is available to be downloaded, available on request or unavailable. While many of the theses in Apollo are openly available for download, some theses in the repository are not open access because they have either been embargoed by the author or because they are unable to be made openly available for copyright or other reasons.

Requesting a copy of a printed thesis

Researchers can order a copy of an unpublished thesis which was deposited in print form through the Library’s  Digital Content Unit  via the  image request form . Copies of theses may be provided to researchers in accordance with the  law  and in a manner that is common across UK libraries.The law allows us to provide whole copies of unpublished theses to individuals as long as they sign a declaration saying that it is for non-commercial research or private study. The agreement used for access to theses at Cambridge has been drafted using the guidance by the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (CILIP).

Theses are not available for borrowing or inter library loan. The copyright of theses remains with the author. The law does not allow us to provide a copy for inclusion in a general library collection or for wider distribution beyond the individual receiving the copy, without the explicit permission of the author or copyright holder. Where someone approaches us asking for a copy for their library or wider distribution, they must obtain the explicit permission of the author or copyright owner.

Please note any periods of access restriction requested by the author apply to both electronic and print copies.

© 2020 Office of Scholarly Communication , University of Cambridge

This project is a joint initiative of Cambridge University Library and the Research Strategy Office .

Follow us on Twitter

Privacy policy

© 2024 University of Cambridge

• Contact the University
• Accessibility
• Freedom of information
• Privacy policy and cookies
• Statement on Modern Slavery
• Terms and conditions
• University A-Z
• Undergraduate
• Postgraduate
• Research news
• About research at Cambridge
• Spotlight on...

• Cambridge Libraries

Physical & Digital Collections

Theses & dissertations: home, access to theses and dissertations from other institutions and from the university of cambridge.

This guide provides information on searching for theses of Cambridge PhDs and for theses of UK universities and universities abroad. 

For information and guidance on depositing your thesis as a cambridge phd, visit the cambridge office of scholarly communication pages on theses here ., this guide gives essential information on how to obtain theses using the british library's ethos service. .

On the last weekend of October, the British Library became the victim of a major cyber-attack. Essential digital services including the BL catalogue, website and online learning resources went dark, with research services like the EThOS collection of more than 600,000 doctoral theses suddenly unavailable. The BL state that they anticipate restoring more services in the next few weeks, but disruption to certain services is now expected to persist for several months. For the latest news on the attack and information on the restoration of services, please follow the BL blog here:  Knowledge Matters blog  and access the LibGuide page here:  British Library Outage Update - Electronic Legal Deposit - LibGuides at University of Cambridge Subject Libraries

A full list of resources for searching theses online is provided by the Cambridge A-Z, available here .

University of Cambridge theses

Finding a cambridge phd thesis online via the institutional repository.

The University's institutional repository, Apollo , holds full-text digital versions of over 11,000 Cambridge PhD theses and is a rapidly growing collection deposited by Cambridge Ph.D. graduates. Theses in Apollo can be browsed via this link . More information on how to access theses by University of Cambridge students can be found on the access to Cambridge theses webpage.   The requirement for impending PhD graduates to deposit a digital version in order to graduate means the repository will be increasing at a rate of approximately 1,000 per year from this source.   About 200 theses are added annually through requests to make theses Open Access or via requests to digitize a thesis in printed format.

Locating and obtaining a copy of a Cambridge PhD thesis (not yet available via the repository)

Theses can be searched in iDiscover .  Guidance on searching for theses in iDiscover can be found here .   Requests for consultation of printed theses, not available online, should be made at the Manuscripts Reading Room (Email:  [email protected] Telephone: +44 (0)1223 333143).   Further information on the University Library's theses, dissertations and prize essays collections can be consulted at this link .

Researchers can order a copy of an unpublished thesis which was deposited in print form either through the Library’s  Digital Content Unit via the image request form , or, if the thesis has been digitised, it may be available in the Apollo repository. Copies of theses may be provided to researchers in accordance with the  law  and in a manner that is common across UK libraries.  The law allows us to provide whole copies of unpublished theses to individuals as long as they sign a declaration saying that it is for non-commercial research or private study.

How to make your thesis available online through Cambridge's institutional repository

Are you a Cambridge alumni and wish to make your Ph.D. thesis available online? You can do this by depositing it in Apollo the University's institutional repository. Click here for further information on how to proceed.    Current Ph.D students at the University of Cambridge can find further information about the requirements to deposit theses on the Office of Scholarly Communication theses webpages.

UK Theses and Dissertations

Electronic copies of Ph.D. theses submitted at over 100 UK universities are obtainable from EThOS , a service set up to provide access to all theses from participating institutions. It achieves this by harvesting e-theses from Institutional Repositories and by digitising print theses as they are ordered by researchers using the system. Over 250,000 theses are already available in this way. Please note that it does not supply theses submitted at the universities of Cambridge or Oxford although they are listed on EThOS.

Registration with EThOS is not required to search for a thesis but is necessary to download or order one unless it is stored in the university repository rather than the British Library (in which case a link to the repository will be displayed). Many theses are available without charge on an Open Access basis but in all other cases, if you are requesting a thesis that has not yet been digitised you will be asked to meet the cost. Once a thesis has been digitised it is available for free download thereafter.

When you order a thesis it will either be immediately available for download or writing to hard copy or it will need to be digitised. If you order a thesis for digitisation, the system will manage the process and you will be informed when the thesis is available for download/preparation to hard copy.

See the Search results section of the  help page for full information on interpreting search results in EThOS.

EThOS is managed by the British Library and can be found at http://ethos.bl.uk . For more information see About EThOS .

World-wide (incl. UK) theses and dissertations

Electronic versions of non-UK theses may be available from the institution at which they were submitted, sometimes on an open access basis from the institutional repository. A good starting point for discovering freely available electronic theses and dissertations beyond the UK is the Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations (NDLTD) , which facilitates searching across institutions. Information can also usually be found on the library web pages of the relevant institution.

The DART Europe etheses portal lists several thousand full-text theses from a group of European universities.

The University Library subscribes to the ProQuest Dissertations and Theses  (PQDT) database which from August 31 2023 is accessed on the Web of Science platform.  To search this index select it from the Web of Science "Search in" drop-down list of databases (available on the Documents tab on WoS home page)

PQDT includes 2.4 million dissertation and theses citations, representing 700 leading academic institutions worldwide from 1861 to the present day. The database offers full text for most of the dissertations added since 1997 and strong retrospective full text coverage for older graduate works. Each dissertation published since July 1980 includes a 350-word abstract written by the author. Master's theses published since 1988 include 150-word abstracts.

IMPORTANT NOTE: The University Library only subscribes to the abstracting & indexing version of the ProQuest Dissertations and Theses database and NOT the full text version.  A fee is payable for ordering a dissertation from this source.   To obtain the full text of a dissertation as a downloadable PDF you can submit your request via the University Library Inter-Library Loans department (see contact details below). NB this service is only available to full and current members of the University of Cambridge.

Alternatively you can pay yourself for the dissertation PDF on the PQDT platform. Link from Web of Science record display of any thesis to PQDT by clicking on "View Details on ProQuest".  On the "Preview" page you will see an option "Order a copy" top right.  This will allow you to order your own copy from ProQuest directly.

Dissertations and theses submitted at non-UK universities may also be requested on Inter-Library Loan through the Inter-Library Loans department (01223 333039 or 333080, [email protected] )

• Last Updated: Dec 20, 2023 9:47 AM
• URL: https://libguides.cam.ac.uk/theses

© Cambridge University Libraries | Accessibility | Privacy policy | Log into LibApps

Study at Cambridge

About the university, research at cambridge.

• Undergraduate courses
• Events and open days
• Fees and finance
• Postgraduate courses
• How to apply
• Postgraduate events
• Fees and funding
• International students
• Continuing education
• Executive and professional education
• Courses in education
• How the University and Colleges work
• Term dates and calendars
• Visiting the University
• Annual reports
• Equality and diversity
• A global university
• Public engagement
• Give to Cambridge
• For Cambridge students
• For our researchers
• Business and enterprise
• Colleges & departments
• Email & phone search
• Museums & collections
• Course Directory

PhD in Computer Science

Postgraduate Study

• Why Cambridge overview
• Chat with our students
• Cambridge explained overview
• The supervision system
• Student life overview
• In and around Cambridge
• Leisure activities
• Student unions
• Music awards
• Student support overview
• Mental health and wellbeing
• Disabled students
• Accommodation
• Language tuition
• Skills training
• Support for refugees
• Courses overview
• Department directory
• Qualification types
• Funded studentships
• Part-time study
• Research degrees
• Visiting students
• Finance overview
• Fees overview
• What is my fee status?
• Part-time fees
• Application fee
• Living costs
• Funding overview
• Funding search
• How to apply for funding
• University funding overview
• Research Councils (UKRI)
• External funding and loans overview
• Funding searches
• External scholarships
• Charities and the voluntary sector
• Funding for disabled students
• Widening participation in funding
• Colleges overview
• What is a College?
• Choosing a College
• Terms of Residence
• Applying overview
• Before you apply
• Entry requirements
• Application deadlines
• How do I apply? overview
• Application fee overview
• Application fee waiver
• Life Science courses
• Terms and conditions
• Continuing students
• Disabled applicants
• Supporting documents overview
• Academic documents
• Finance documents
• Evidence of competence in English
• AI and postgraduate applications
• Terms and Conditions
• Applicant portal and self-service
• After you apply overview
• Confirmation of admission
• Student registry
• Previous criminal convictions
• Deferring an application
• Updating your personal details
• Appeals and Complaints
• Widening participation
• Postgraduate admissions fraud
• International overview
• Immigration overview
• ATAS overview
• Applying for an ATAS certificate
• Current Cambridge students
• International qualifications
• Competence in English overview
• What tests are accepted?
• International events
• International student views overview
• Akhila’s story
• Alex’s story
• Huijie’s story
• Kelsey’s story
• Nilesh’s story
• Get in touch!
• Events overview
• Upcoming events
• Postgraduate Open Days overview
• Discover Cambridge: Master’s and PhD Study webinars
• Virtual tour
• Research Internships
• How we use participant data
• Postgraduate Newsletter

Primary tabs

• Overview (active tab)
• Requirements
• How To Apply

The PhD is the primary research degree that can be taken in the Department of Computer Science and Technology. The Cambridge PhD is a three to four-year full-time (five to seven-year part-time) programme of individual research on a topic agreed by the student and the Department, under the guidance of a staff member as the student's supervisor. 

All research students are admitted to read for the PhD degree on a probationary basis and will be registered for the Certificate of Postgraduate Study (CPGS) in the first instance. During this year students may do some additional coursework and will write a research report that is likely to form the foundation of the eventual PhD thesis. The CPGS will involve four components:

Research skills training

Practical work

Research report of no more than 10,000 words

Attendance at a research workshops and research seminars

At the end of the third term and on completion of the CPGS, students whose performance indicates that they would be able to complete a PhD in a reasonable time will be upgraded to PhD status. A student who is not upgraded to PhD status, and who has completed three terms of study, will normally be awarded the CPGS alone. They will not submit a thesis for the PhD degree.

There is an expectation that all research students will contribute to teaching in the department for which some training will be provided. Research students will submit a log - or tally-sheet - of teaching activities annually at the end of June. 

Students are expected to complete the substance of their research by the end of their third year, submitting their thesis then or within a few months.

Applicants wishing to apply to undertake a PhD on a part-time basis should refer to the Department's admissions advice for potential part-time students.

The Postgraduate Virtual Open Day usually takes place at the end of October. It’s a great opportunity to ask questions to admissions staff and academics, explore the Colleges virtually, and to find out more about courses, the application process and funding opportunities. Visit the  Postgraduate Open Day  page for more details.

See further the  Postgraduate Admissions Events  pages for other events relating to Postgraduate study, including study fairs, visits and international events.

Key Information

3-4 years full-time, 4-7 years part-time, study mode : research, doctor of philosophy, department of computer science and technology, course - related enquiries, application - related enquiries, course on department website, dates and deadlines:, lent 2024 (closed).

Some courses can close early. See the Deadlines page for guidance on when to apply.

Michaelmas 2024 (Closed)

Funding deadlines.

These deadlines apply to applications for courses starting in Michaelmas 2024, Lent 2025 and Easter 2025.

Similar Courses

• Advanced Computer Science MPhil
• Machine Learning and Machine Intelligence MPhil
• Medical Science (Oncology) MPhil
• Oncology PhD
• Computation, Cognition and Language PhD

Postgraduate Admissions Office

• Admissions Statistics
• Start an Application
• Applicant Self-Service

At a glance

• Bringing a family
• Current Postgraduates
• Cambridge Students' Union (SU)

University Policy and Guidelines

Privacy Policy

Information compliance

Equality and Diversity

Terms of Study

About this site

About our website

Privacy policy

© 2024 University of Cambridge

• Contact the University
• Accessibility
• Freedom of information
• Privacy policy and cookies
• Statement on Modern Slavery
• University A-Z
• Undergraduate
• Postgraduate
• Research news
• About research at Cambridge
• Spotlight on...

Study at Cambridge

About the university, research at cambridge.

• Events and open days
• Fees and finance
• Student blogs and videos
• Why Cambridge
• Course directory
• How to apply
• Fees and funding
• Frequently asked questions
• International students
• Continuing education
• Executive and professional education
• Courses in education
• How the University and Colleges work
• Visiting the University
• Term dates and calendars
• Video and audio
• Find an expert
• Publications
• Global Cambridge
• Public engagement
• Give to Cambridge
• For current students
• For business
• Colleges & departments
• Libraries & facilities
• Museums & collections
• Email & phone search
• Computer Laboratory
• Internal information

Typographic resources

• Thesis formatting

Department of Computer Science and Technology

• Academic staff
• Support staff
• Contract researchers
• Fellows & affiliates
• PhD students
• Wednesday Seminar Series
• Wheeler Lectures
• women@cl 10th Anniversary
• Computer Laboratory 75th Anniversary
• Shopping and leisure
• Library induction
• Electronic resources
• Virtual journals shelf
• Local services
• Lab technical reports
• External technical reports
• Resource lists
• Reading lists
• Maps and directions
• Contact information
• Group Meetings
• Project ideas for current students
• Projects and research topics
• [no title found]
• Selected Publications
• Open source components
• Contact Details
• Applying to do a PhD
• Project suggestions
• Other information
• Reading Club
• Postgraduate opportunities
• Programming, Logic, Semantics
• Projects and topics
• Security Seminar Series
• Mailing lists
• Research Projects
• Student Projects
• Digital Technology Group
• Research Admin
• PhD applications
• Graduate Admissions Prospectus
• Funding deadlines
• MPhil in Advanced Computer Science
• Premium Research Studentship
• Student Administration
• Induction for M.Phil and Part III students
• Part III and ACS projects
• Part IA CST
• Part IB CST
• Part II CST
• Lecturer index
• Instructions for lecturers
• Examination dates
• Examination results
• Examiners' reports
• Plagiarism and collusion
• Purchase of calculators
• Data Retention Policy
• Past exam papers
• Guidance on deadlines
• Part III Assessment
• MPhil Assessment
• Student Complaint Procedure
• Short form timetable
• Part II supervisions overview
• Part II sign-up dates
• Notes on supervising
• Supervisor support
• Advice for students visiting Cambridge
• UROP internships
• Previous years
• Briefing document (Pink Book)
• Important dates
• Phase 1 report
• Back-up advice
• Resources Declaration
• Studies Involving Human Participants
• Failure to submit proposal
• Selection Tips
• Declaration of originality
• Submission of dissertation
• IP ownership
• Diploma model projects
• Older project suggestions
• Supervising Notes
• Overseer Briefing Notes
• Directors of Studies
• Managed Cluster Service
• Part III and MPhil machines
• Online services
• Installing Linux
• Microsoft Azure for Education Membership
• Neil Wiseman, 1934–1995
• Roger Needham, 1935–2003
• David Wheeler, 1927–2004
• Karen Spärck Jones, 1935–2007
• Judith Ann Bailey, 1934–2008
• Robin Milner, 1934–2010
• Sir Maurice Wilkes, 1913–2010
• Michael JC Gordon, 1948–2017
• Richard Gibbens, 1962–2018
• Ross J Anderson, 1956–2024
• An introduction to our computing facilities
• Information for new PhD students
• Information for new staff
• Information for visitors
• Information for hosts of visitors
• General information
• Induction Guidelines
• Specialist resources
• Printing and scanning
• The CL network
• SSH access to the CL systems
• Supported platforms
• Generic Unix/Linux information
• Web servers and sites
• The RT ticketing system
• Lecture theatre AV
• Departmental policies
• Meeting rooms
• Personnel information
• Staff training
• Wiseman prize
• General health and safety
• Environment
• H&S policies & committees
• Risk assessment
• Laser safety
• Useful links
• Index of Health & Safety pages
• PhD supervisors
• Graduate Advisers
• First Year Report: PhD Proposal
• Second Year Report: Dissertation Schedule
• Third Year Report: Progress Statement
• Fourth Year Report: the last year
• Papers and conferences
• Submitting your dissertation
• Exemption from University Composition Fees
• Leave to work away, holidays and intermission
• Researcher Development
• Application deadlines
• List of PhD thesis
• Graduate Students' Forum
• PAT, recycling and Building Services
• Preparing Tripos exam questions in LaTeX
• Information for CST examiners
• Information for Directors of Studies
• ACS module definition
• Providing advice to incoming ACS students
• ACS interviewing and admissions
• Outreach material
• Faculty Board
• Degree Committee
• Graduate Education
• Tripos Management
• Health & Safety
• IT Strategy
• Equality and Diversity
• Research Staff
• Staff–Student
• Graduate Students
• Buildings and Environment
• Discontinued committees
• Building Services
• Access and security
• Care of the WGB
• Facilities in offices
• Energy & Environment
• West Cambridge Site
• Leaving the department
• New arrivals
• Specialist resources ➥
• System administration
• Roles and responsibilities
• Information for staff
• Health and safety
• PhD resources
• Teaching resources
• William Gates Building

PhD thesis formatting

There is no official pre-made departmental or University-wide style template for PhD theses. Some argue that learning (and advancing!) the art of beautifully typesetting a thesis is a crucial part of getting a PhD.

Here are some practical recommendations, examples, and useful starting points.

Most PhD authors in the Computer Laboratory prefer LaTeX as their typesetting system (under both Linux or Windows), mainly because of its

• excellent and yet unmatched support for mathematical formulae;
• good support for managing bibliographic references;
• good support for high-quality typography;
• easy integration with software-engineering tools (make, revision control, etc.);
• very safe and robust handling of large documents;
• long-term stability;
• comprehensive free tool support.

A common approach is to use the report style, with a suitable title page added, margins changed to make good use of the A4 format, and various other changes to suit submission requirements and individual tastes (e.g., other fonts).

For preparing publication-quality diagrams, some of the most powerful and popular tools used include:

• PGF/TikZ – the probably most sophisticated drawing package for LaTeX
• matplotlib – Matlab-style function plotting in Python

Official requirements

There used to be detailed Student Registry PhD format requirements , regarding font sizes and line spacing, but most Degree Committees have dropped these, recognizing that they were mainly motivated by past typewriter conventions. The rules left are now mainly about the word count .

In particular, it is no longer necessary for dissertations to be printed single sided or in “one-and-a-half spaced type”. If you still like to increase the line spacing, for easier proofreading, you can achieve this in LaTeX by placing into the preamble the line “ \usepackage{setspace}\onehalfspacing ”.

Recommendations

One Cambridge thesis-binding company, J.S. Wilson & Son , recommend on their web page to leave 30 mm margin on the spine and 20 mm on the other three sides of the A4 pages sent to them. About a centimetre of the left margin is lost when the binder stitches the pages together.

Write your thesis title and section headings in “sentence case”, that is use the same capitalization that you would have used in normal sentences (capitalize only the first word, proper nouns and abbreviations). Avoid the US-style “title case” that some conference-proceedings publishers require.

• Sentence case is normal typographic practice in the UK (see any UK-published newspaper, magazine, journals such as Nature , etc.).
• The catalogues of both the University Library thesis collection and our departmental Technical Report series record titles this way, and you don't want the cataloguers mess with your title capitalization when your thesis finally reaches them.
• It preserves useful information about the correct capitalization of any names or technical terms used.

Page numbers

Use a single page-number sequence for all pages in your thesis, i.e. do not use a separate sequence of Roman numerals for front-matter (title page, abstract, acknowledgements, table of contents, table of figure). In LaTeX that means using the report style, not the book style.

• PDF viewers number pages continuously starting from 1, and using anything else as printed page numbers causes confusion.
• This will save you some reformatting when submitting your thesis as a techreport .

Bibliographic references

If you use purely-numeric bibliographic references, do not forget to still mention authors’ surnames, as a courtesy to both the authors and your readers. Also, try to add the exact page number on which the quoted point is found in the reference; LaTeX supports this really well. (“suggested by Crowcroft and Kuhn [42,p107]”)

Technical Report submission

After a thesis has been approved by the examiners, the author normally submits it for publication as a Computer Laboratory Technical Report .

It is a good idea to read early on the submission guidelines for technical reports , as this may reduce the need to change the formatting later.

If you want to minimize any changes needed between your submitted thesis and the corresponding technical report version, then – in addition to applying all the above advice – you can

• make page 1 the title page,
• make page 2 the required declaration of originality,
• make page 3 the summary, and
• choose a layout suitable for double-sided printing (required for techreport, since 2010 also allowed for final PhD submission).

This way, there is a very high chance that turning your thesis into a techreport could be as simple as replacing pages 1 and 2 with the standard Technical Report title page (which the techreport editor can do for you).

More information

• The Computer Laboratory house style page explains where to find the University identifier that many put on the title page of their thesis.
• Markus Kuhn’s simple PhD thesis template ( snapshot ) is just one possible starting point.
• The cam-thesis LaTeX class is a collaborative effort to maintain a Cambridge PhD thesis template for Computer Laboratory research students, initiated by Jean Martina, Rok Strniša, and Matej Urbas.
• Effective scientific electronic publishing – Markus Kuhn’s notes on putting scientific publications onto the web, especially for LaTeX/LNCS users.
• International Standard ISO 7144 Presentation of theses and similar documents (1986) contains also some general guidelines for formatting dissertations that may be of use.
• University A-Z
• Contact the University
• Accessibility
• Freedom of information
• Terms and conditions
• Undergraduate
• Spotlight on...
• About research at Cambridge

Study at Cambridge

About the university, research at cambridge.

• Undergraduate courses
• Events and open days
• Fees and finance
• Postgraduate courses
• How to apply
• Postgraduate events
• Fees and funding
• International students
• Continuing education
• Executive and professional education
• Courses in education
• How the University and Colleges work
• Term dates and calendars
• Visiting the University
• Annual reports
• Equality and diversity
• A global university
• Public engagement
• Give to Cambridge
• For Cambridge students
• For our researchers
• Business and enterprise
• Colleges & departments
• Email & phone search
• Museums & collections
• Collections
• All collections & departments
• Archives, Modern and Medieval Manuscripts and University Archives
• Subject Guides
• Cambridge University Library
• Using the Library overview
• Your library membership overview
• Online resources and services
• Zero contact services overview
• Visit the University Library overview
• Library Service Updates
• Accessibility and disabled library users overview
• Research overview
• University Library Research Institute overview
• Digital Preservation overview
• Digital Humanities overview
• Open Access
• Office of Scholarly Communication
• Research Data Management
• Futurelib Innovation Programme overview
• Teaching and Learning overview
• Information Literacy Teaching at Cambridge
• What's On overview
• Exhibitions overview
• Events overview
• The Really Popular Book Club
• Friends Events
• Annual Lectures overview
• Google Arts and Culture
• Search and Find overview
• LibGuides - Subject guides
• eResources overview
• ArchiveSearch
• Reference Management overview
• Physical catalogues overview
• Collaborative catalogues
• Collections overview
• Physical Collections
• Online Collections
• Special Collections overview
• All collections & departments overview
• Journals Co-ordination Scheme overview
• Recommend an item for our collection overview
• The Polonsky Foundation Greek Manuscripts Project
• About overview
• Governance overview
• History of the Library overview
• Statement of Collecting Policy
• Diversifying Collections and Practices overview
• Statement on the University’s Historical Involvement with Tobias Rustat
• Prizes and Fellowships overview
• Library Storage Facility
• Press and media
• Giving overview
• Friends of the Library overview
• Make a Donation overview
• Philanthropy

Theses, dissertations and prize essays

• All collections & departments
• Cambridge theses

Finding and ordering Cambridge theses

• Asian & Near and Middle Eastern manuscripts
• Business archives
• College collections deposited in the University Library
• Literary manuscripts
• Local Courts and Justice
• Medieval manuscripts
• Military archives
• Naval archives
• Religious, ecclesiastical and theological archives
• Scientific manuscripts
• University Archives

The Manuscripts Reading Room administers the University's collection of doctoral and higher degree theses. Before 1920, degrees were awarded on the basis of examinations or certificates of research, and little written work composed specifically for such purposes survives, other than a small collection of Advanced Student Dissertations. Revised regulations were approved, instituting the new degree of PhD, which required a written work to be deposited in the University Library. Our collection of doctoral theses thus dates from 1921, when just four arrived in the Library. Statistics illustrate a great increase in output: for the academic year 2015-2016 just over one thousand new dissertations were approved and added to our collection. There are now over 39,000 volumes.

Contact: Manuscripts Reading Room (01223 333143, [email protected] )

Cambridge theses held by CUL

A small but growing proportion of Cambridge theses are available to consult in digital form in the university repository Apollo .

See the Office of Scholarly Communication's webpages on theses .

Cambridge University Library, West Road, Cambridge CB3 9DR, UK

Email:  [email protected]

Tel: +44 (0) 1223 333000

Privacy Policy

Diversifying Collections and Practices

Social Media

Library blogs

Job opportunities

© 2024 University of Cambridge

• Contact the University
• Accessibility
• Freedom of information
• Privacy policy and cookies
• Statement on Modern Slavery
• Terms and conditions
• University A-Z
• Undergraduate
• Postgraduate
• Research news
• About research at Cambridge
• Spotlight on...

• DSpace@MIT Home
• MIT Libraries

This collection of MIT Theses in DSpace contains selected theses and dissertations from all MIT departments. Please note that this is NOT a complete collection of MIT theses. To search all MIT theses, use MIT Libraries' catalog .

MIT's DSpace contains more than 58,000 theses completed at MIT dating as far back as the mid 1800's. Theses in this collection have been scanned by the MIT Libraries or submitted in electronic format by thesis authors. Since 2004 all new Masters and Ph.D. theses are scanned and added to this collection after degrees are awarded.

MIT Theses are openly available to all readers. Please share how this access affects or benefits you. Your story matters.

If you have questions about MIT theses in DSpace, [email protected] . See also Access & Availability Questions or About MIT Theses in DSpace .

If you are a recent MIT graduate, your thesis will be added to DSpace within 3-6 months after your graduation date. Please email [email protected] with any questions.

Permissions

MIT Theses may be protected by copyright. Please refer to the MIT Libraries Permissions Policy for permission information. Note that the copyright holder for most MIT theses is identified on the title page of the thesis.

Theses by Department

• Comparative Media Studies
• Computation for Design and Optimization
• Computational and Systems Biology
• Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics
• Department of Architecture
• Department of Biological Engineering
• Department of Biology
• Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences
• Department of Chemical Engineering
• Department of Chemistry
• Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
• Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences
• Department of Economics
• Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences
• Department of Humanities
• Department of Linguistics and Philosophy
• Department of Materials Science and Engineering
• Department of Mathematics
• Department of Mechanical Engineering
• Department of Nuclear Science and Engineering
• Department of Ocean Engineering
• Department of Physics
• Department of Political Science
• Department of Urban Studies and Planning
• Engineering Systems Division
• Harvard-MIT Program of Health Sciences and Technology
• Institute for Data, Systems, and Society
• Media Arts & Sciences
• Operations Research Center
• Program in Real Estate Development
• Program in Writing and Humanistic Studies
• Science, Technology & Society
• Science Writing
• Sloan School of Management
• Supply Chain Management
• System Design & Management
• Technology and Policy Program

Collections in this community

Doctoral theses, graduate theses, undergraduate theses, recent submissions.

A development in East Boston, Massachusetts 

Operating and financial policy of the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad, 1921-1926 

A study of rotational flow in a pipe line 

Show Statistical Information

• Harvard Library
• Research Guides
• Faculty of Arts & Sciences Libraries

Computer Science Library Research Guide

Find dissertations and theses.

• Get Started
• How to get the full-text
• What is Peer Review?
• Find Books in the SEC Library This link opens in a new window
• Find Conference Proceedings
• Find Patents This link opens in a new window
• Find Standards
• Find Technical Reports
• Find Videos
• Ask a Librarian This link opens in a new window

Engineering Librarian

How to search for Harvard dissertations

• DASH , Digital Access to Scholarship at Harvard, is the university's central, open-access repository for the scholarly output of faculty and the broader research community at Harvard.  Most Ph.D. dissertations submitted from  March 2012 forward  are available online in DASH.
• Check HOLLIS, the Library Catalog, and refine your results by using the   Advanced Search   and limiting Resource  Type   to Dissertations
• Search the database  ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global Don't hesitate to  Ask a Librarian  for assistance.

How to search for Non-Harvard dissertations

Library Database:

• ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global

Free Resources:

• Many  universities  provide full-text access to their dissertations via a digital repository.  If you know the title of a particular dissertation or thesis, try doing a Google search.  

Related Sites

• Formatting Your Dissertation - GSAS
• Ph.D. Dissertation Submission  - FAS
• Empowering Students Before you Sign that Contract!  - Copyright at Harvard Library

Select Library Titles

• << Previous: Find Conference Proceedings
• Next: Find Patents >>
• Last Updated: Feb 27, 2024 1:52 PM
• URL: https://guides.library.harvard.edu/cs

Harvard University Digital Accessibility Policy

• Bodleian Libraries
• Oxford LibGuides
• Computer Science
• Theses and dissertations

Computer Science: Theses and dissertations

• Journals and Conference Proceedings
• Keeping up-to-date

Other Relevant Guides

• ORA: Oxford University Research Archive by Jason Partridge Last Updated Apr 10, 2024 2498 views this year

Tips for Finding Theses at Oxford

SOLO now allows you to search for theses in the Oxford collections very easily.

1. Navigate to the SOLO homepage.

2. Type details of the Thesis you would like to search for into the main search box.

3. Under the search box is a series of drop-down menus marked 'Refine your search'. In the first box select the the ' Theses ' option.

4. Now press the ' Search ' button to run your search.

Oxford Theses

• SOLO Search for print and electronic Oxford DPhil theses in the library catalogue. Electronic versions will link directly to the record in ORA. Limit your search to "Theses".
• Oxford Research Archive (ORA) Search for and download recent (2006+) Oxford DPhil theses.

Non-Oxford Theses

• EThOS Access to UK theses from the British Library. [*Note: You will need to register to access theses through EThOS.] more... less... To use this service you will be required to set up an individual account.
• DART-Europe Search European E-theses.
• Proquest Dissertations and Theses Search US theses and dissertations. Accessed through OxLip+, search for 'dissertations and theses'.
• NDLTD Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations. Search and access e-theses and dissertations from around the world.

The  Oxford University Research Archive (ORA)  contains research publications and other research output produced by members of the University of Oxford. Content includes copies of journal articles, conference papers and theses.

• << Previous: Patents
• Last Updated: Jun 20, 2024 4:42 PM
• URL: https://libguides.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/computer_science

Website feedback

Accessibility Statement - https://visit.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/accessibility

Google Analytics - Bodleian Libraries use Google Analytics cookies on this web site. Google Analytics anonymously tracks individual visitor behaviour on this web site so that we can see how LibGuides is being used. We only use this information for monitoring and improving our websites and content for the benefit of our users (you). You can opt out of Google Analytics cookies completely (from all websites) by visiting https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout

© Bodleian Libraries 2021. Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence

Suggestions or feedback?

MIT News | Massachusetts Institute of Technology

• Machine learning
• Social justice
• Black holes
• Classes and programs

Departments

• Aeronautics and Astronautics
• Brain and Cognitive Sciences
• Architecture
• Political Science
• Mechanical Engineering

Centers, Labs, & Programs

• Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL)
• Picower Institute for Learning and Memory
• Lincoln Laboratory
• School of Architecture + Planning
• School of Engineering
• School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences
• Sloan School of Management
• School of Science
• MIT Schwarzman College of Computing

Arvind, longtime MIT professor and prolific computer scientist, dies at 77

Press contact :, media download.

*Terms of Use:

Images for download on the MIT News office website are made available to non-commercial entities, press and the general public under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives license . You may not alter the images provided, other than to crop them to size. A credit line must be used when reproducing images; if one is not provided below, credit the images to "MIT."

Previous image Next image

Arvind Mithal, the Charles W. and Jennifer C. Johnson Professor in Computer Science and Engineering at MIT, head of the faculty of computer science in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS), and a pillar of the MIT community, died on June 17. Arvind, who went by the mononym, was 77 years old.

A prolific researcher who led the Computation Structures Group in the Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL), Arvind served on the MIT faculty for nearly five decades.

“He was beloved by countless people across the MIT community and around the world who were inspired by his intellectual brilliance and zest for life,” President Sally Kornbluth wrote in a letter to the MIT community today.

As a scientist, Arvind was well known for important contributions to dataflow computing, which seeks to optimize the flow of data to take advantage of parallelism, achieving faster and more efficient computation.

In the last 25 years, his research interests broadened to include developing techniques and tools for formal modeling, high-level synthesis, and formal verification of complex digital devices like microprocessors and hardware accelerators, as well as memory models and cache coherence protocols for parallel computing architectures and programming languages.

Those who knew Arvind describe him as a rare individual whose interests and expertise ranged from high-level, theoretical formal systems all the way down through languages and compilers to the gates and structures of silicon hardware.

The applications of Arvind’s work are far-reaching, from  reducing the amount of energy and space required by data centers to  streamlining the design of more efficient multicore computer chips .

“Arvind was both a tremendous scholar in the fields of computer architecture and programming languages and a dedicated teacher, who brought systems-level thinking to our students. He was also an exceptional academic leader, often leading changes in curriculum and contributing to the Engineering Council in meaningful and impactful ways. I will greatly miss his sage advice and wisdom,” says Anantha Chandrakasan, chief innovation and strategy officer, dean of engineering, and the Vannevar Bush Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science.

“Arvind’s positive energy, together with his hearty laugh, brightened so many people’s lives. He was an enduring source of wise counsel for colleagues and for generations of students. With his deep commitment to academic excellence, he not only transformed research in computer architecture and parallel computing but also brought that commitment to his role as head of the computer science faculty in the EECS department. He left a lasting impact on all of us who had the privilege of working with him,” says Dan Huttenlocher, dean of the MIT Schwarzman College of Computing and the Henry Ellis Warren Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science.

Arvind developed an interest in parallel computing while he was a student at the Indian Institute of Technology in Kanpur, from which he received his bachelor’s degree in 1969. He earned a master’s degree and PhD in computer science in 1972 and 1973, respectively, from the University of Minnesota, where he studied operating systems and mathematical models of program behavior. He taught at the University of California at Irvine from 1974 to 1978 before joining the faculty at MIT.

At MIT, Arvind’s group studied parallel computing and declarative programming languages, and he led the development of two parallel computing languages, Id   and pH. He continued his work on these programming languages through the 1990s, publishing the book “Implicit Parallel Programming in pH”   with co-author R.S. Nikhil in 2001, the culmination of more than 20 years of research.

In addition to his research, Arvind was an important academic leader in EECS. He served as head of computer science faculty in the department and played a critical role in helping with the reorganization of EECS after the establishment of the MIT Schwarzman College of Computing.

“Arvind was a force of nature, larger than life in every sense. His relentless positivity, unwavering optimism, boundless generosity, and exceptional strength as a researcher was truly inspiring and left a profound mark on all who had the privilege of knowing him. I feel enormous gratitude for the light he brought into our lives and his fundamental impact on our community,” says Daniela Rus, the Andrew and Erna Viterbi Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science and the director of CSAIL.

His work on dataflow and parallel computing led to the Monsoon project in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Arvind’s group, in collaboration with Motorola, built 16 dataflow computing machines and developed their associated software. One Monsoon dataflow machine is now in the  Computer History Museum in Mountain View, California.

Arvind’s focus shifted in the 1990s when, as he explained in a 2012 interview for the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), funding for research into parallel computing began to dry up.

“Microprocessors were getting so much faster that people thought they didn’t need it,” he recalled.

Instead, he began applying techniques his team had learned and developed for parallel programming to the principled design of digital hardware.

In addition to mentoring students and junior colleagues at MIT, Arvind also advised universities and governments in many countries on research in parallel programming and semiconductor design.

Based on his work on digital hardware design, Arvind founded Sandburst in 2000, a fabless manufacturing company for semiconductor chips. He served as the company’s president for two years before returning to the MIT faculty, while continuing as an advisor. Sandburst was later acquired by Broadcom.

Arvind and his students also developed Bluespec, a programming language designed to automate the design of chips. Building off this work, he co-founded the startup Bluespec, Inc., in 2003, to develop practical tools that help engineers streamline device design.

Over the past decade, he was dedicated to advancing undergraduate education at MIT by bringing modern design tools to courses 6.004 (Computation Structures) and 6.191 (Introduction to Deep Learning), and incorporating Minispec, a programming language that is closely related to Bluespec.

Arvind was honored for these and other contributions to data flow and multithread computing, and the development of tools for the high-level synthesis of hardware, with membership in the National Academy of Engineering in 2008 and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2012. He was also named a distinguished alumnus of IIT Kanpur, his undergraduate alma mater.

“Arvind was more than a pillar of the EECS community and a titan of computer science; he was a beloved colleague and a treasured friend. Those of us with the remarkable good fortune to work and collaborate with Arvind are devastated by his sudden loss. His kindness and joviality were unwavering; his mentorship was thoughtful and well-considered; his guidance was priceless. We will miss Arvind deeply,” says Asu Ozdaglar, deputy dean of the MIT Schwarzman College of Computing and head of EECS.

Among numerous other awards, including membership in the Indian National Academy of Sciences and fellowship in the Association for Computing Machinery and IEEE, he received the Harry H. Goode Memorial Award from IEEE in 2012, which honors significant contributions to theory or practice in the information processing field.

A humble scientist, Arvind was the first to point out that these achievements were only possible because of his outstanding and brilliant collaborators. Chief among those collaborators were the undergraduate and graduate students he felt fortunate to work with at MIT. He maintained excellent relationships with them both professionally and personally, and valued these relationships more than the work they did together, according to family members.

In summing up the key to his scientific success, Arvind put it this way in the 2012 IEEE interview: “Really, one has to do what one believes in. I think the level at which most of us work, it is not sustainable if you don’t enjoy it on a day-to-day basis. You can’t work on it just because of the results. You have to work on it because you say, ‘I have to know the answer to this,’” he said.

He is survived by his wife, Gita Singh Mithal, their two sons Divakar ’01 and Prabhakar ’04, their wives Leena and Nisha, and two grandchildren, Maya and Vikram. 

Share this news article on:

Related links.

• Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL)
• Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science

Related Topics

• Computer science and technology
• Programming
• Electronics
• Electrical Engineering & Computer Science (eecs)

Related Articles

Restructuring the MIT Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science

Advance boosts efficiency of flash storage in data centers

Device allows a personal computer to process huge graphs

Streamlining chip design

Previous item Next item

More MIT News

Designing for outer space

Read full story →

Professor Emerita Mary-Lou Pardue, pioneering cellular and molecular biologist, dies at 90

Helping nonexperts build advanced generative AI models

New Ragon Institute building opens in the heart of Kendall Square

Toward socially and environmentally responsible real estate

Eric Evans receives Department of Defense Medal for Distinguished Public Service

• More news on MIT News homepage →

Massachusetts Institute of Technology 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA, USA

• Map (opens in new window)
• Events (opens in new window)
• People (opens in new window)
• Careers (opens in new window)
• Accessibility
• Social Media Hub
• MIT on Facebook
• MIT on YouTube
• MIT on Instagram

Study at Cambridge

About the university, research at cambridge.

• Undergraduate courses
• Events and open days
• Fees and finance
• Postgraduate courses
• How to apply
• Postgraduate events
• Fees and funding
• International students
• Continuing education
• Executive and professional education
• Courses in education
• How the University and Colleges work
• Term dates and calendars
• Visiting the University
• Annual reports
• Equality and diversity
• A global university
• Public engagement
• Give to Cambridge
• For Cambridge students
• For our researchers
• Business and enterprise
• Colleges & departments
• Email & phone search
• Museums & collections
• Current students
• PhD students
• Progression
• Fourth Year: writing up and completion
• Department of Computer Science and Technology

Sign in with Raven

• People overview
• Research staff
• Professional services staff
• Affiliated lecturers
• Overview of Professional Services Staff
• Seminars overview
• Weekly timetable
• Wednesday seminars
• Wednesday seminar recordings ➥
• Wheeler lectures
• Computer Laboratory 75th anniversary ➥
• women@CL 10th anniversary ➥
• Job vacancies ➥
• Library resources ➥
• How to get here
• William Gates Building layout
• Contact information
• Department calendar ➥
• Accelerate Programme for Scientific Discovery overview
• Data Trusts Initiative overview
• Pilot Funding FAQs
• Research Funding FAQs
• Cambridge Ring overview
• Ring Events
• Hall of Fame
• Hall of Fame Awards
• Hall of Fame - Nominations
• The Supporters' Club overview
• Industrial Collaboration
• Annual Recruitment Fair overview
• Graduate Opportunities
• Summer internships
• Technical Talks
• Supporter Events and Competitions
• How to join
• Collaborate with Us
• Cambridge Centre for Carbon Credits (4C)
• Equality and Diversity overview
• Athena SWAN
• E&D Committee
• Support and Development
• Targeted funding
• LGBTQ+@CL overview
• Links and resources
• Queer Library
• women@CL overview
• About Us overview
• Friends of women@CL overview
• Twentieth Anniversary of Women@CL
• Tech Events
• Students' experiences
• Contact overview
• Mailing lists
• Scholarships
• Initiatives
• Dignity Policy
• Outreach overview
• Women in Computer Science Programme
• Google DeepMind Research Ready programme overview
• Accommodation and Pay
• Application
• Eligibility
• Raspberry Pi Tutorials ➥
• Wiseman prize
• Research overview
• Application areas
• Research themes
• Algorithms and Complexity
• Computer Architecture overview
• Creating a new Computer Architecture Research Centre
• Graphics, Vision and Imaging Science
• Human-Centred Computing
• Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence
• Mobile Systems, Robotics and Automation
• Natural Language Processing
• Programming Languages, Semantics and Verification
• Systems and Networking
• Research groups overview
• Computer Architecture Group overview
• Student projects
• Energy and Environment Group overview
• Declaration
• Publications
• Past seminars
• Learning and Human Intelligence Group overview
• Quantum Computing Group
• Technical Reports
• Admissions information
• Undergraduate admissions overview
• Open days and events
• Undergraduate course overview overview
• Making your application
• Admissions FAQs
• Super curricular activities
• MPhil in Advanced Computer Science overview
• Applications
• Course structure
• Funding competitions
• Prerequisites
• PhD in Computer Science overview
• Application forms
• Research Proposal
• Funding competitions and grants
• Part-time PhD Degree
• Premium Research Studentship
• Current students overview
• Part IB overview
• Part IB group projects overview
• Important dates
• Design briefs
• Moodle course ➥
• Learning objectives and assessment
• Technical considerations
• After the project
• Part II overview
• Part II projects overview
• Project suggestions
• Project Checker groups
• Project proposal
• Advice on running the project
• Progress report and presentation
• The dissertation
• Supervisor briefing notes
• Project Checker briefing notes
• Past overseer groups ➥
• Part II Supervision sign-up
• Part II Modules
• Part II Supervisions overview
• Continuing to Part III overview
• Part III of the Computer Science Tripos
• Overview overview
• Information for current Masters students overview
• Special topics
• Part III and ACS projects overview
• Submission of project reports
• ACS projects overview
• Guidance for ACS projects
• Part III projects overview
• Guidance for Part III projects
• Preparation
• Registration
• Induction - Masters students
• PhD resources overview
• Deadlines for PhD applications
• Protocol for Graduate Advisers for PhD students
• Guidelines for PhD supervisors
• Induction information overview
• Important Dates
• Who is here to help
• Exemption from University Composition Fees
• Being a research student
• Researcher Development
• Research skills programme
• First Year Report: the PhD Proposal
• Second Year Report: Dissertation Schedule
• Third Year Report: Progress Statement
• Fourth Year: writing up and completion overview
• PhD thesis formatting
• Writing up and word count
• Submitting your dissertation
• Papers and conferences
• Leave to work away, holidays, and intermission
• List of PhD students ➥
• PAT, recycling, and Building Services
• Freshers overview
• Cambridge University Freshers' Events
• Undergraduate teaching information and important dates
• Course material 2023/24 ➥
• Course material 2024/25 ➥
• Exams overview
• Examination dates
• Examination results ➥
• Examiners' reports ➥
• Part III Assessment
• MPhil Assessment
• Past exam papers ➥
• Examinations Guidance 2023-24
• Marking Scheme and Classing Convention
• Guidance on Plagiarism and Academic Misconduct
• Purchase of calculators
• Examinations Data Retention Policy
• Guidance on deadlines and extensions
• Mark Check procedure and Examination Review
• Lecture timetables overview
• Understanding the concise timetable
• Supervisions overview
• Part II supervisions overview ➥
• Part II supervision sign-up ➥
• Supervising in Computer Science
• Supervisor support
• Directors of Studies list
• Academic exchanges
• Advice for visiting students taking Part IB CST
• Summer internship: Optimisation of DNN Accelerators using Bayesian Optimisation
• UROP internships
• Resources for students overview
• Student SSH server
• Online services
• Managed Cluster Service (MCS)
• Microsoft Software for personal use
• Installing Linux
• Part III and MPhil Machines
• Transferable skills
• Course feedback and where to find help overview
• Providing lecture feedback
• Fast feedback hotline
• Staff-Student Consultative Forum
• Breaking the silence ➥
• Student Administration Offices
• Intranet overview
• New starters and visitors
• Forms and templates
• Building management
• Health and safety
• Teaching information
• Research admin
• Miscellaneous

Thesis formatting

There is no official pre-made departmental or University-wide styletemplate for PhD theses. Some argue that learning (and advancing!) the art of beautifully typesetting a thesis is a crucial part of getting a PhD.

Here are some practical recommendations, examples, and useful starting points.

Most PhD authors in the Computer Laboratory prefer LaTeX as their typesetting system (under both Linux or Windows), mainly because ofits

• excellent and yet unmatched support for mathematical formulae;
• good support for managing bibliographic references;
• good support for high-quality typography;
• easy integration with software-engineering tools (make, revision control, etc.);
• very safe and robust handling of large documents;
• long-term stability;
• comprehensive free tool support.

A common approach is to use the report style, with a suitable title page added, margins changed to make good use of the A4 format, and various other changes to suit submission requirements and individual tastes (e.g. other fonts).

For preparing publication-quality diagrams, some of the most powerful and popular tools used include:

• PGF/TikZ – the probably most sophisticated drawing package for LaTeX
• matplotlib – Matlab-style function plotting in Python

Official requirements

There used to be detailed  Student Registry PhD format requirements , regarding font sizes and line spacing, but most Degree Committees have dropped these, recognizing that they were mainly motivated by past typewriter conventions. The rules left are now mainly about the word count .

In particular, it is no longer necessary for dissertations to be printed single sided or in “one-and-a-half spaced type”. The Graduate Education Committee, however, strongly advises candidates to use one-and-a-half spaced type for ease of reading by the examiners. You can achieve this in LaTeX by placing into the preamble the line “ \usepackage{setspace}\onehalfspacing ”.

Recommendations

One Cambridge thesis-binding company,  J.S. Wilson & Son ,  recommend on their web page to leave 30 mm margin on the spine and 20 mm on the other three sides of the A4 pages sent to them. About a centimetre of the left margin is lost when the binder stitches the pages together.

Write your thesis title and section headings in “sentence case”, that is, use the same capitalisation that you would have used in normal sentences (capitalise only the first word, proper nouns and abbreviations). Avoid the US-style “title case” that some conference-proceedings publishers require.

• Sentence case is normal typographic practice in the UK (see any UK-published newspaper, magazine, journals such as Nature, etc.).
• The catalogues of both the  University Library thesis collection and our departmental  Technical Report series record titles this way, and you don't want the cataloguers mess with your title capitalisation when your thesis finally reaches them.
• It preserves useful information about the correct capitalisation of any names or technical terms used.

Page numbers

Use a single page-number sequence for all pages in your thesis, i.e. do not use a separate sequence of Roman numerals for front-matter (title page, abstract, acknowledgements, table of contents, table offigure). In LaTeX that means using the report style, not the book style.

• PDF viewers number pages continuously starting from 1, and using anything else as printed page numbers causes confusion.
• This will save you some reformatting when  submitting your thesis as a tech report .

Bibliographic references

If you use purely numeric bibliographic references, do not forget to still mention authors’ surnames, as a courtesy to both the authors and your readers. Also, try to add the exact page number on which the quoted point is found in the reference; LaTeX supports this really well. (“suggested by Crowcroft and Kuhn [42, p107]”)

Technical Report submission

After a thesis has been approved by the examiners, the author normally submits it for publication as a Computer Laboratory Technical Report.

It is a good idea to read early on the submission guidelines for technical reports, as this may reduce the need to change the formatting later.

If you want to minimize any changes needed between your submitted thesis and the corresponding technical report version, then – in addition to applying all the above advice – you can:

• make page 1 the title page,
• make page 2 the required declaration of originality,
• make page 3 the summary, and
• choose a layout suitable for double-sided printing (required for tech report, since 2010 also allowed for final PhD submission).

This way, there is a very high chance that turning your thesis into a techreport could be as simple as replacing pages 1 and 2 with the standard Technical Report title page (which the tech report editor can do for you).

More information

• The Computer Laboratory house style  page explains where to find the University identifier that many put on the title page of their thesis.
• Markus Kuhn’s simple PhD thesis template ( snapshot ) is just one possible starting point.
• The cam-thesis  LaTeX class is a collaborative effort to maintain a Cambridge PhD thesis template for Computer Laboratory research students, initiated by Jean Martina, Rok Strniša, and Matej Urbas.
• Effective scientific electronic publishing – Markus Kuhn’s notes on putting scientific publications onto the web, especially for LaTeX/LNCS users.
• International Standard ISO 7144 Presentation of theses and similar documents (1986) also contains some general guidelines for formatting dissertations that may be of use.

Department of Computer Science and Technology University of Cambridge William Gates Building 15 JJ Thomson Avenue Cambridge CB3 0FD

Information provided by [email protected]

Privacy policy

Social media

© 2024 University of Cambridge

• Contact the University
• Accessibility
• Freedom of information
• Privacy policy and cookies
• Statement on Modern Slavery
• Terms and conditions
• University A-Z
• Undergraduate
• Postgraduate
• Research news
• About research at Cambridge
• Spotlight on...